Category: US and Canada

WASHINGTON — Airlines recorded zero accident deaths in commercial passenger jets last year, according to a Dutch consulting firm and an aviation safety group that tracks crashes, making 2017 the safest year on record for commercial air travel.

Mike and Joan Renee Cook had a tumultuous marriage. The couple lived in Salem, Virginia with their young daughter, Ashlyn. But in 2007, Mike moved to Des Moines, Iowa to find a job, with plans for Joan and Ashlyn to join him once he was settled.

WASHINGTON — The new year brings a host of state laws that take effect starting Monday, from making marijuana more accessible to requiring paid family leave. Retail sales of marijuana for recreational use are now legal in California.

SLIDELL, La. — A 67-year-old Louisiana man swindled people out of thousands of dollars as a middleman in a “Nigerian prince” internet scam, according to police. Michael Neu, of Slidell, Louisiana, is facing 269 counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

HURON, Ohio — An Ohio man’s tongue-in-cheek obituary blames the winless Cleveland Browns for contributing to his demise. The football team was 1-15 last season and 0-16 this year following Sunday’s finale in Pittsburgh, where the Browns lost 24-28 to the Steelers.

DENVER — Authorities in Colorado say a number of deputies from a sheriff’s office in suburban Denver have been wounded. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said via its Twitter account that a major highway south of the city was shut down Sunday.